1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin, readily portable book, and, in particular, to a thin portable book which is mainly comprised of two parts of a recording medium freely detachable and a read-out apparatus which retrieves and displays the data stored in the recording medium.
Coded data is recorded on the recording medium as the content of the book and can be read out by a read-out means in the main body of the read-out apparatus, decoded or converted, and displayed in the form of alphanumeric characters, symbols, and images on a liquid crystal display which is part of the read-out apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional books are mainly in a form whereby the alphanumeric characters, symbols, and images and so on used to display the contents of a book are printed on the surface of the paper of that book. The reader views the alphanumeric characters, symbols, and images, and the like to comprehend the contents of the book.
In many conventional books made from paper, one volume will weigh in excess of 1 kg. For example, literary novels and specialized books frequently exceed one kilogram in weight. For this reason, it frequently happens that when the books are shipped to a retail store, several tons of books are loaded onto a truck. The transportation costs and the like mount up so that the cost of one volume becomes rather high. In addition, the size of the paper on which the alphanumeric characters, symbols, and images are printed is not uniform, even with the similar content of the book, the similar type, the similar cost, and the like, so there is the problem that when a large volume is stored, a large paper area is required. In addition, primary and junior high school students whose bodies are still in a state of growth must carry many heavy texts books to and from school every day for study. This is believed to have a major adverse effect on the bodies of these students.
The applicant of the present invention has proposed a “Personal Computer System with a Built-in Solar Cell” (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/292,098 filed on Dec. 30, 1988) relating to all types of data processing devices to provide energy saving, in which the terminology “personal computer system” is used to indicate all types of data processing devices. This personal computer system is equipped with a built-in battery, a secondary battery, a solar cell, a liquid crystal display, a keyboard, and a cover. The liquid crystal display is provided inside the cover which opens and closes by means of rotating shaft with reference to the main body including the keyboard. The liquid crystal display is adapted to face toward the user when the cover is open. The solar cell is provided on the side of the cover where there is no liquid crystal display. Therefore, when the cover is closed, the solar cell can be seen but the liquid crystal display cannot.
This personal computer system may also be provided with a mechanism so that when the cover is closed, the secondary battery is electrically connected to the solar cell, so that the secondary battery becomes charged, while when the cover is opened, the secondary battery is electrically connected to a terminal to operate the personal computer system. In this mechanism, when the cover is closed, the secondary battery is charged by the electric power generated by the solar cell, and when the cover is opened, the electric energy with which the secondary battery had been charged can be used to operate the personal computer system. At this time, the liquid crystal display would face toward the user because the cover is opened.
The above is one example of this personal computer system which demonstrates energy saving in the operation.
This personal computer system can also be utilized as the thin portable book described previously.
In the case where the above-mentioned personal computer system in the conventional technology is applied to the thin portable book, it has some superior points and some inferior points when compared with the usual type of book prints. For example, in the personal computer system used as a thin portable book, a strong point is the fact that when only the freely detachable recording mediums are carried with the read-out apparatus left behind, this book is considerably lighter than a printed book. On the other hand, there are the drawbacks that when the personal computer system is used as the thin portable book and the read-out apparatus is also taken outdoors to read the book, the life of the charge of a dry cell and a chargeable cell is short, and when the weather is poor so that very little power can be generated by the solar cell, the personal computer system is less reliable than the normal book.
For this reason, the appearance of a new type book superior to a standard book on all points has been awaited.